Hi, everyone!
*Swats threatened in story but none happen*
I do lots of spanking stories, or stories that have corner time in them. Those types of stories often also include mouth soaping, which I haven't done (maybe someday? not sure), but I got an idea to do something similar but different. Abby was my "victim" last night when I wrote it. I hope you are able to enjoy a different look at discipline from Gibbs when the old guy tries to be creative. :D *evil laughter, but also feeling sorry for Abby*
Enjoy!
...
There was one thing about Gibbs - he was not favourable to bad language. Once upon a long time ago, he gave an explanation that he heard enough of it on the streets that he did not need to hear it on his team or in his home. From then on, it was corrected and all the team knew enough to avoid it.
Most of the time.
Except one night at Gibbs' house for a pizza and movie night, sponsored by Tony and Tim who were particularly good moods due to having won a competition of which team in the office could put the most paper clips surreptitiously one at a time on their team lead's desk without it being noticed. As Gibbs had spent most of his time on his feet that day, and the three times he sat down he had been distracted by coffee, the "Tornado Ts Team" had won the bet. The generous victors were now treating their cheerleader (Abby), lookout (Ziva), and victim (Gibbs, who now had exactly fifty-three paper clips hidden on his desk) to pizza.
Gibbs was making a Ceasar salad as a side, a dish that he knew how to make quite well. No one thought to question his prowess, and it was a good thing that they did not as he would not have answered and the "offending" party would likely have received a head slap for their curiousity. In truth, it had been on of Shannon's favourites and they had eaten it on their first date and on every anniversary, always made by him. He was not sure if Shannon simply liked him helping out or if she was just blinded ... not blinded ... tasteless due to love, but she had bragged about his salad. He still made it on their anniversary every year, no matter what. Maybe it was foolish, but it was healthful, he convinced himself.
Today was not an anniversary, just a regular family dinner. And, as was a slightly-regular occurrence, someone was acting up.
Abby.
And that's where his aversion to swearing within the family was being triggered.
The first time she swore, Gibbs frowned a little. Abby noticed.
"Sorry," she answered carelessly.
The second time, Gibbs mentioned sarcastically, "The nuns must really enjoy that mouth on you, Abs."
"Sorry," she answered glibly.
The third time, her chances were gone. Gibbs gave her a grim look as he finished chopping the lemon wedges for the salad, then reached over and took her by the wrist. Abby looked surprised, then processed what she had said.
"Sorry," she said, a little more concerned than the previous times.
"You keep saying that, but you obviously aren't if you keep doing it," Gibbs said quietly. He was not a huge fan of making a public example of anyone but he also felt that in this case it was not exactly "public" and it might do some good all around for the others to see the consequence. He picked up a wedge of lemon and tapped her chin. "Open your mouth."
Abby shook her head, clamping her jaw stubbornly.
"Open," Gibbs repeated, feeling the focus of the other three turn toward him and Abby like meerkats. He stayed firm although he disliked that so much attention was being drawn to the situation. Abby stayed firm too, refusing to open her mouth.
"Just listen and do it," Tim blurted out, unable to handle the suspense. Tony slapped a hand over Tim's mouth, knowing that Gibbs hated interference and that as helpful as it would be for Abby to listen to Tim's words, she would likely not appreciate it either.
Gibbs leaned in close enough so that only Abby could hear what he was saying. "You can take the lemon on its own or you can take it along with a couple swats. Which will it be?"
"It doesn't matter. I like lemons ... ugh!" Abby gasped as he slipped the lemon into her mouth as she talked. She tried to spit it out but Gibbs stopped her. This time he was far less into subtlety.
"Bite down and hold it in your mouth until I say otherwise, Abigail, or you can have a sore backside to help you remember how to control your actions and language too. You're already getting twice the time you would've have due to the refusal to listen when I first asked. Now, bite down."
Abby, blushing pink as an apple blossom, bit down on the piece of lemon and made a face, then spent a miserable two minutes standing near Gibbs while the others fled to find other tasks that they could do anywhere but in the kitchen. Finally, after what felt like a sour eternity, Gibbs turned to Abby.
"You can spit it out now," he said, feeling a twinge of compassion when he processed the face she was making.
Abby did, grimacing a little as she threw the lemon into the trash can. Then she threw back her shoulders and announced, "I like lemonade." But Gibbs saw how her mouth grimaced just at the word and heard the slight stutter as her tongue curled in displeasure.
Gibbs, recognizing the tactic being used of trying to make him think that a punishment was ineffective because it "didn't bother" the one being disciplined. He knew better. Abby was getting exactly the message that he needed for her to receive. He did not even bother to promise spanks if the lemon proved ineffective. He knew that the lesson had been received, loud and clear.
"No more bad language," he said softly, collecting her into a loose hug.
"Okay," Abby answered, subdued.
He kissed her cheek and they went off to have supper. All was well with the world once again.
Although there was one person who did not have lemon on their Ceasar salad that night.
...
I hope that you enjoyed this little one-shot. Feel free to post any one-shot prompts in the comments. :) I'm looking for a few new ideas and am interested in what inspiration may be offered.
Stay safe and well!
MM